


Every Year

by Fushigi Kismet (tokyofish), tokyofish



Category: Gundam SEED
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-05-31
Updated: 2005-05-31
Packaged: 2018-02-10 08:32:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2018157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyofish/pseuds/Fushigi%20Kismet, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyofish/pseuds/tokyofish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cagalli looks forward to her birthday less and less every year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Year

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Gundam Seed is © Sunrise, Bandai, etc. This is a nonprofit fanwork.

Orb is known to the world as a highly advanced country with strong morals and a hard-working populace. It is a country whose people expect to share in their joys and their sorrows as a nation. It is also a country that takes great pride in its leaders and its actions. That said, every year Orb throws a very public and very grand celebration for Cagalli’s birthday. Every year she looks forward to it less and less.

It’s not the smiling and the reporters and the unending line of politicians and celebrities and friends of the family trooping through her house all day long wishing her a “Very Happy Birthday” and bringing her “tokens of their appreciation” that they hope will be returned in political favors that bother her. Nor is it the birthday speech that she has to give to the crowds outside promptly at noon so it can be broadcast nationwide that causes her to think black thoughts. It’s not even constant reminders by her servants that she will look lovely in the dress that they will force her to wear all day long that makes her frown.

It’s the fact that she can’t make Kira suffer through all the same indignities. Really! Little brothers have all the luck.

But thinking that, she’ll smile, because once she closes the doors behind the last of the guests, she’ll rush to her room and change into a comfortable set of clothes and wash off all her make-up. That done, she’ll grab the wrapped package she’s carefully hidden in her sock drawer and make her way to one of the back entrances where Athrun is waiting with an unmarked black car with tinted windows. She’ll climb into the front passenger’s seat next to him and he’ll greet her with a smile and a gift that she’ll open later in the privacy of her own room. She’ll thank him with a kiss, which, more often than not, turns into more than one, but then they check the time and sheepishly realize that they’re running late and Athrun revs the engine and off they go.

They end up at a quiet cottage by the sea that they rent for a month just for this one night, and Athrun raps three times on the door for admittance. The door opens swiftly and the two of them are ushered inside by Murrue. The party is already in full swing and Kira teases them both for being so late, causing Athrun to blush and Cagalli to protest wildly that the guests had been especially late in leaving, that was all. Kira smiles.

Milly shuts off the lights before everyone can see exactly how red Cagalli’s face can get. Lacus takes that as her cue to begin playing the appropriate song for the occasion on the piano and everyone joins in together, singing merrily.

Andrew brings out the cake in all its strawberry bedecked wonder, candles flickering, and Kira and Cagalli exchange a look before taking a deep breath, making a silent wish, and blowing out the flames together.

There is a round of applause, then calls for the birthday pair to cut the cake already, which they do, and plates are passed around to everyone. A toast to their health follows then the public unwrapping of presents - which everyone insists upon despite both Kira and Cagalli’s protests that they are too old for such things. Everyone oohs and aahs and laughs at the gag gifts and Cagalli and Kira’s good-natured threats of retaliation the next time the giver’s birthday comes around.

Lacus insists that they play birthday games so they do until it has grown quite late indeed. Before she leaves, Cagalli and Kira make their own private exchange of birthday gifts and, embracing each other in the doorway, wish each other “Happy Birthday!”

Then Athrun drives her home and kisses her good night. Cagalli opens her two remaining presents before going to bed and it is inevitable that she will smile through her tears at the thoughtfulness of the two most important people in her life. She reads the cards carefully and sets them in places of honor on top of her dresser on either side of the framed picture of the three of them.

Before drifting off to sleep, she thinks that she must get up in a few brief hours and take care of all the paperwork she has neglected to go over that day and how Kira will doubtlessly be sleeping in.

Little brothers have all the luck!

Well, perhaps not _all_ the luck . . . she supposes older sisters had their share too. After all, she is blessed with wonderful friends and a loving brother.

Every year Cagalli looks forward to her birthday less and less . . . and to _their_ birthday more and more.


End file.
